W.I.N. - A theme for this year

I miss the daily Advent Reflections that I read every day before Christmas.  Most of them inspired me to remember the true reason for the Christmas celebration.   One of my favorite authors, Paul D'Arcy, asked this question on January 1st  - "What is My Theme for the Coming Year?"  The theme I chose over the past years gave me reason to write in my prayer journal.  Past yearly themes were "The Year of Gratitude, The Year of Surprise, "The Year of Love, "The Year of Blessing, and last year "The Year of Waiting."  My theme for 2013 is a "Year of Noticing."  I try to write about my awareness every day in my prayer journal and I thought I might also blog about some special moments of awareness.  My WIN blogs will mostly be "picture-less."

WIN (What I Noticed) so far this year

My grandkid's reactions to the Disneyland Vacation.  Jacob was ready to kiss the ground he walked on because he was so happy to be home and away from people, traffic, and long lines.  Bradleigh is the only one who did any shopping - she came home with Mickey Mouse Ears and a Disney sweatshirt.  Colin wrote a special thank you note:

My tears of joy when my boss told me the corporation approved a new wage scale and all line staff would get an equity increase as well. 

The sincere hugs and thank yous from Karlee and Lynzee Wilson for enduring the noise and enthusiasm of the Golden Throne basketball contest at LCSC's Activity Center.   

Brook Finnegan's weight loss and remark, "I've never been healthier and I feel so good."  She had gastric by-pass surgery last year and continues to lose weight by swimming every day.  

Tears welling up in my eyes when my boss told me the replacement executive director, scheduled to start February 1, 2013, would not be coming after all.  

People read my blog.  Helen Shackelford, a fellow SGA classmate wrote an Email to me, "Theresa - hello !  I just wanted to tell you, I came upon your blog on the internet last night and enjoyed it so much !  .....  Seeing pictures of you and your family, hearing about your life .............. seeing pictures of your siblings and "the look" of "our childhood era"  ........... even tho' I didn't meet you till we were Freshman in high school."

 

My daughter, Karen, makes time to have coffee with me.  Her family is busy, busy, and she works 12 hour days, but has Fridays off.  I'm just delighted and grateful when she meets me at Starbucks on a Friday morning.  She encourages me to stay healthy, get more exercise, and she is so friendly to people she knows and there's always someone we both know who come into Starbucks.  I'm so proud of her and the way she manages her busy life and loves her family more than anything else in the world.  I notice her priorities are in the right place!